grizzly660fan

If the end is the only broken part, then, you prbably won't have to remove the motor to get any broken mast pieces out. All you need is a towel, pair of pliers, new mast, and an assistant. Unscrew the nut that surronds the mast with the towel and pliers. Then, have someone turn on the am radio so that the mast comes all the way out. Grease the new mast's plastic tail, insert it as far as it can go(I can't remember if the teeth go to the front or the rear.), turn off the radio, and in she goes. Retighten the nut, and you are set! If I remember correctly from when I did this, it took a little finagling to get the nut from the old mast to the new one. I got my mast from the dealer for a little under $50. I think they can be had on ebay for about $20. Note to self: only hand washes for the Lexus! ← Well, its broken approx in the middle of the mast. in the current sitch it won't retract all the way and its still one piece. so you are saying I can get the mast part and not have to replace the motor and all as a complete assembly? wow that is good news. note to wife, turn off car when washing! lol she was spraying the road grime off as its winter here and the car was very dirty...

My wife was washing her 1996 LS400 and left the car idling with radio on and antenna in the up position. the hose from car wash caught and has nearly snapped off the antenna. it has a crease in it and will need to be replaced. Anyone every replace this before? got any advice or instructions they might share as I will be replacing this myself rather than at the dealer. also, any tips on where to find replacement antenna cheaper than local dealer? Thanks in advance.

nobody said anything about being "unreasonable". seems if you work with car dealers maybe you have some empathy for them than the average consumer does not have or need to have. yet another reason the original post should obtain other opinions. In this case, the person purchasing isn't going to have a "lasting relationship" with the dealer. she is going to purchase it, have it shipped to her location. the relationship will be with the dealer in her area (if she services the car at lexus dealers). Also, no one said anything about causing a dealer or salesman to lose money. very very seldom will a dealer sell a vehicle for a loss. there are some occasions yes, however that is not the norm. Also the original post wasn't seeking info on what price would cause the dealer to lose money. there are a lot of things that cause the dealer to have more profit than what is posted. often there are factory to dealer incentives for example. another way a dealer makes more money is if they are beating their parts sales, or new car sales goals for the year. every part or car they sell after they meet their goals often comes with additional discounts to the dealer. I also think that $200-400 commission for about an hour worth of work by the salesman is more than fair. the next customer coming along that pays msrp will more than make up for any shortness this one deal may make. Also, with these cars just hitting the lot, this is the most profitable time for the dealer, its likely if it just arrived and he sells it right off, he hasn't had to make his flooring payment for the car yet. also, advertising costs have likely not hit, or any other operating costs. you are 100% correct that a dealer will let you walk over a few hundred dollars. that is their choice and I don't hold a grudge personally. so the "$9500" margin could certainly be more, and again, I agree with the original post, that is a lot of dosh to make on one deal. That is a very good reason to try and find a better deal (from the consumer perspective). maybe the research and calling/faxing lexus dealers will side with your opinion, but maybe it will side with the opinion of the original post. I hope they post the results so we can see how this interesting post turns out. just my $0.02 worth, take it or leave it.

I vote you keep going on your quest. while its probably not common to to purchase a lexus with your parameters, it does happen. There are lots of factors that determine what the bottom price a dealer is willing to accept. (dealer allocations, strength of sales, etc) There is always that exception. I like you go for the absolute lowest price and encourage you to continue. I am also not willing to put $5k of profit into a dealers pockets. Either you save the money or they make the money. since you have mentioned you have shipping options available (I would like to know more about that perhaps) keep shopping and looking. while it was mentioned by another to threaten to get up and leave, I prefer another approach, I get very serious about the purchase and make the dealer know, either he sells this car to me, or I buy from another dealer. that tends to soften the dealer, and I am always willing to put my money where my mouth is and purchase on the spot. therefore I am not wasting his time, and he knows not to waste my time. If we can't agree on terms, then we part friends and I do as I said and purchase from the other dealer who will meet my terms. to answer SW03ES just because she doesn't accept the information you offer (and others) does not mean she isn't listening. she might be trying to dig deeper into other opinions than those offered. nothing wrong with that in my book. please post your success when you find it. I find this thread interesting.